Hamlet Betrayal Quotes Analysis

Improved Essays
According to canonized Catholic priest, Saint Jerome, “The face is the mirror of the mind, and the eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.” The quote signifies thoughts running through the mind are made known. The eyes act as a window to the innermost desires of the heart. Since the inception of humanity, people have been probing and scrutinizing betrayal as an inescapable flaw of humanity, which has led to questioning the root of evil. In the tragedy, Hamlet, William Shakespeare exposes the nature and the reasons behind betrayal. The ultimate downfall of the protagonist is caused by the exposure of secrets which leads to various betrayals; consequently, highlighting the value of the work as a whole by portraying the theme of vengeance and betrayal leading to destruction. Claudius’ desire and jealousy of his …show more content…
Hamlet is betrayed Laertes whose determination to avenge his family clouds his better judgement and leads to the latter’s eventual destruction. Laertes returns to Denmark from France to the news of his father’s murder and learns about the death of Ophelia soon after. “Why…. I am justly killed with mine own treachery,” (Act 5, Scene 2, Lines 336-367). Laertes is rash in his thirst for vengeance and finds an ally in Claudius. Laertes gets a taste of his own medicine when his quest for retribution and betrayal eventually leads to his destruction.
The theme of vengeance and betrayal leading to destruction is touched upon by William Shakespeare in the tragedy, Hamlet. From Claudius killing Hamlet’s father to Hamlet’s life ending after the battle against Laertes, the reader comes to the understanding that the various betrayals are a representation of the unanswered trials and tribulations of humanity. Showcasing the need to advance oneself regardless of the consequences is the ultimate reason behind

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In the Play Hamlet by William Shakespeare the character Hamlet has many foils. One of Hamlets biggest foils is the character Laertes. Laertes and Hamlet are known adversaries. They both loose a father by a sudden and unnatural death. Both characters struggle to deal with the loss of their fathers and Ophelia and deal with it in different ways illuminating the theme of dealing with loss.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation. To this point I stand that both world I give to negligence” (IV, v, 130). Laertes highlights his distrust in King Claudius due to the unruly circumstances of his father’s death, which corresponds to the rejection of Claudius as a father figure by Hamlet after King Hamlet’s death. Moreover, Laertes’ intense hatred for his father’s murderer and serious vow for reprisal signify his inherent similarity to Hamlet.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hamlet Essay Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy, Hamlet (1892) is a prevailing text, which encompasses perennial concerns not only applicable to the elizabethan era, but also to our contemporary society, enabling us as a critical audience to successfully engage with Hamlet as a character. As a result of corruption, Hamlet is perceived as an afflicted character struggling to live in a world of complex appearances and paradoxical actions. Consequently, his overwhelming desire and reason for filial revenge is instigated, reflecting the intricate nature of the human condition in the undertaking of his vengeance. Moreover, these prominent concerns are cohesively resonated throughout the text, thus establishing textual integrity and further heightening the plays enduring effect.…

    • 1016 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Then Laertes, upset over Hamlet’s responsibility for the deaths of both his sister and his father, agrees to duel Hamlet. Unsurprisingly, both face fatal consequences. Hamlet makes the choice to manipulate those around him…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Describe Laertes In Hamlet

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages

    At that moment we knew that Hamlet wants to get revenge on King Claudius for killing his Father, moreover, Laertes is trying to get revenge on Hamlet because he killed his father, Polonius. These two gentlemen are trying to avenge their father 's’ death because they think if they killed they are going to be better. Laertes tells the king in 4.7 that “And so have I a noble father lost……. For her perfection. But my revenge will come.…

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Laertes is very angry and reacts by wanting to kill Hamlet for taking the life of his father. Laertes says, “ Let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged Most thoroughly for my father” (4.4.148-149). This is proof as he is mad over Hamlet taking his father’s life. He seeks revenge for his father’s death and gets that but also gets killed as well. Both Hamlet and Laertes wanting to kill and get revenge for their father’s death sets up the destructive ending.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the play, Hamlet greatly suffers from his father’s death. With the idea of reordering his world, Hamlet acts with attempts to seek revenge; however, his efforts lead to major chaos. This is primarily seen with the murders of Polonius and Laertes. Hamlet murders the two innocent men in order to achieve revenge, and retribution for Claudius - the murderer of his father. His “rash and bloody” (III, iv, 26-28) actions demonstrate the chaos that arises from Hamlet 's attempts of reordering his world.…

    • 1162 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The sickness of manipulation In Hamlet this playwright of “william shakespeare 's” ,Young Hamlet is a man surrounded by deceit and must choose to give into the manipulation or make it his own path. Shakespeare had a sun named Hamlet who passed away who theorist say this is the main point as to why he wrote this dramatic tragedy. In this play King Hamlet is murdered by his brother claudius and it is up to young prince hamlet to end cladiouse raine. Hamlet 's mother and Ophelia also experience the poisoned dagger of manipulation to act on what she believed is right.…

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Foil characters have both similarities and differences that are used to emphasize certain traits. More specifically, a foil’s life mirrors its counterpart but his/her differences reveal to the readers the subtle traits in the other character. In “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Demark”, Hamlet, the protagonist, and his old friend, Laertes, reunite in their home town after the death of King Hamlet. Laertes acts as a very useful foil for Hamlet in that the two men share life experiences yet they have different personalities and behaviors.…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Hamlet Essay Characters who parallel, yet contrast one another are said to act as foils. Ophelia and Laertes act as foils for Hamlet, as they develop the theme: The murder of a loved one corrupts a person in a way that it triggers acts of irrational behaviour. In the play Hamlet, we are able to see the actions that Ophelia and Laertes take once they experience a murder similar to Hamlet 's. Ophelia and Hamlet experience the same feelings of grief and despair towards their fathers. After the death of Polonius, Ophelia becomes robbed of her sanity. As Claudius explains, “... Oh, this is the poison of deep grief, it springs all from her father 's death, and now behold!...…

    • 1101 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the characters Hamlet and Laertes both seek justice for their fathers, but that justice leads them to fighting for a personal vengeance against the people who had wronged them. Hamlet wants justice for his father, old King Hamlet, by killing his murderer, his fatherś brother and current king of Denmark. Meanwhile, Laertes wants justice for his father Polonius,…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Laertes’ grief proves that and like Hamlet, he becomes consumed by the need for revenge and, in the end it causes his own destruction. It is clear that his purpose in life, like Hamlet is blurred by this hunger for revenge. Laertes’s grief over the death of his father and dedication to his revenge is best shown when he is talking to Claudius “To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit!…

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Annotated Bibliography Working Thesis: In the complex and intertwined themes of the revenge tragedy, Hamlet, William Shakespeare effectively expresses what it means to be human through Hamlet’s struggle to explore the human conditions of mortality, deception and morality, social expectations, and contemplation versus impulsive actions. MacNamara, Vincent. “The Human Condition.” The Call to be Human: Making Sense of Morality.…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Betrayal Theme In Hamlet

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages

    There are few staples of human nature like the betrayal that can be found through the act of cheating or in much more dire situations, murder. Throughout Shakespeare’s longest running play, Hamlet, the betrayal that is faced is one that is circumstantial, in that it reveals the pride, jealousy and selfishness that the characters possess that are paralleled with those found in the bible. Claudius, the brother to the king, has committed fratricide and treason of the highest order, “O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murther!” (Shakespeare, III. 319-320).…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He tells his son that while he was sleeping, Claudius poured poison into his ear. Hamlet is shocked by the ghosts words. The ghost asks Hamlet to “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” (I.5.25) Prince Hamlet vow’s to avenge his father’s death, and promises not hurt his mother even though he blame’s her for re-marrying to his uncle right after his father’s death. Since the revenge was requested, and not Prince Hamlet’s own decision, we could question if Hamlet would consider avenging his father, even if he wasn’t told to.…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays